“Where are we going?” I ask as Lex opens the passenger door of his car for me. He told me he’d take me on a real date today, but he wouldn’t give me any hints about what that means. All he said was that I wouldn’t need a wig this time, and to wear whatever I wanted.
“You’ll see, my little fairy,” he says, just before he closes the door and walks around the car. I study the blue jeans and the white t-shirt he’s wearing, figuring it’s a clue, since he rarely wears anything but a suit.
My husband grins at me as he gets in and leans over me, reaching for my seat belt to buckle me in. He pauses, his gaze roaming over mine, and he sighs softly before kissing the tip of my nose moments before my seatbelt clicks into place.
“Just give me one hint,” I murmur as he takes an unfamiliar turn on the Windsor Estate.
Lex just places his hand on my thigh and squeezes. “I’ll take you somewhere you’ve never been, to do something you’ve never done. It’ll be a completely unique experience, a memory that’ll just be ours. I’m taking you somewhere no one can reach us.”
I place my hand over his and frown. “That didn’t narrow it down at all. That was a terrible clue.”
He chuckles and shakes his head. “It wouldn’t have mattered what I said. You’ll never guess it, darling.”
“Oh wow,” I whisper when I realize what lies ahead of us. The hangar, where a Windsor helicopter is already waiting for us.
Lex smirks as he parks right in front of it, his gaze on mine as he walks around the car and offers me his hand. I take it without question, the excitement in his gaze infectious.
“Lex,” I murmur when he entwined our fingers and leads me right up to the helicopter. “There’s no pilot.”
His eyes widen, and then he laughs. “Isn’t there?”
He opens the door and reaches for me, lifting me into the seat right next to the pilot’s with ease, and I stare at the countless dials and buttons in surprise. It’s a beautiful piece of machinery, most of the bottom just made of glass to allow for an uninterrupted view.
Lex leans in and straps me in, before placing headphones over my head, triple checking that I’m secured properly before he walks around and gets into the pilot’s seat. I stare at him wide-eyed, and he laughs in earnest as he touches countless buttons. The propellors start to spin as he buckles himself in.
“You’re kidding me,” I say the moment he has his headphones on, a microphone extended in front of his face. It hits me then: each time he told me he’d just take his helicopter to make his busy schedule work, he was flying it himself. How did I never realize that before?
Lex leans back, looking perfectly comfortable in his seat. “Little fairy,” he drawls. “Let me give you an exclusive view of the Windsor Estate and our city. I’m taking you somewhere special, and the flight there is pretty spectacular.”
I gasp when we take off smoothly, and though I try my best to focus on the view underneath us, my gaze keeps being drawn back to Lex. He looks in his element. I’d never noticed how tense he usually is, until now. We’ve been married for months, yet I didn’t even know how much he loves flying.
“When did you learn to fly?” I ask, my tone hesitant.
His gaze to mine for a split second, before he faces forward again. “About ten years ago.”
I bite down on my lip. “Why did you decide to learn? It suits you, but it’s not really a conventional hobby.”
He pauses, and for a moment I’m sure my headphones and microphone malfunctioned, but then the sound crackles, and he replies. “I needed something that truly made me feel free and completely in control, and flying does that for me. There’s nothing like taking to the sky, no one but you in charge of your flight path and not a single thing obstructing that path.”
He throws me a smile, but it isn’t a genuine one. Something about my question made his carefreeness wash away, his usual expression clicking back into place. I hadn’t even realized how fake it looks until I caught a glimpse of him underneath that mask.
“We’re here, darling.”
I sit up as we start to descend toward a long runway in the middle of a flower field, my curiosity overflowing. The closer we get, the clearer the flowers become. “Buttercups,” I whisper, surprised. They’re some of my favorite flowers to find in the wild, and I can’t believe how many there are here. I glance at Lex, wondering if he remembers that they’re my favorite. I told him that once during a round of truth or dare, but surely that isn’t why he picked this location, is it? I can’t tell what’s going on at all, but the descent put a real smile on Lex’s face, and I’d honestly go anywhere with him if it’ll make him smile like that.
He waits for the propellors to slow down before he undoes his seatbelt and reaches over to unbuckle mine. He’s got his hands on my headphones when our eyes lock, and he pauses, a slow smile spreading across his face as he tilts his face and leans in to kiss me. I sigh, my heart racing as I wrap my hand around the back of his neck and kiss him back, losing myself in my husband. His lips linger for a few moments before he pulls back, and I grin when he steals another swift kiss before taking my headphones off for me. The way he looks at me… it isn’t love, but it’s something that makes me hope it eventually could be.
“Come on,” he says, offering me his hand as he leads me out of the helicopter, and much to my surprise, three uniformed Windsor Motors employees are standing right in front of it. I blush fiercely when I realize they must’ve walked up while we were kissing, and the thought of them having witnessed that fills me with embarrassment. Lex chuckles when he notices I can’t quite face them, and he wraps his arm around my shoulders.
“Mr. Windsor,” the oldest of the three men says, nodding politely. He barely spares me a glance. “We’ve prepared everything you asked for. Tom will operate the winch.”
Lex nods and pulls me a little closer. “That’s wonderful. However, have you greeted my wife? I must not have heard you.”
My eyes widen, and I glance up at him in surprise. He just smiles sweetly and brushes my hair out of my face.
“Apologies, Mrs. Windsor,” the man says, sounding stricken. He looks at me like I’m some kind of mirage and smiles, seemingly genuinely.
Lex squeezes my shoulder briefly, and I look up at him. “This is Winston,” he explains, before tipping his head to the man on his left. “That’s Tom.” Tom smiles politely, clearly curious about me. “And that’s Justin. They’re all Windsor Motors engineers, and they’ve graciously offered to help us today.”
“Help us with what, exactly?” I ask, hoping for another clue.
He smiles sweetly and tucks my hair behind my ear. “You’re about to find out.”
My eyes grow round when a truck parks in front of us, and a small plane is loaded out of it. “What is that?” I ask, slightly fearful.
Lex grins. “That, my sweet little fairy, is a glider. It’s an engineless plane, and you’re going to fly it.”
